Transformers GGundam: Crash & Burn
by MrBoBo31786
Summary: The Autobots and Decepticons fight an all-new battle in an alternate universe. (Rated R for violence, some language, some nudity and lemon content) Note: Chapters 1-2 is up!
1. Prologue: Call to Duty

Prologue - Call to Duty  
  
  
  
Hound, Bumblebee, and Jazz were in their vehicular forms, strolling about the  
  
forests of Colorado on reconnaissance duty. To seek out energon, Optimus said, and  
  
make leeway for the Autobots to secure it. If all went well, the Autobots may gain  
  
an edge against the forces of the Decepticons, whom are bent on ruling the universe  
  
by any means.  
  
Jazz was of course playing some rock music within his internal radio to keep  
  
himself occupied from boredom. Although he didn't mind doing some exploration, since  
  
the Earth was quite a suiting environment for him and his fellow robots, he would much  
  
prefer doing special operations or sabotage; which was his forte ever since the war  
  
against the Decepticons started more than four million years ago. Action with style adds  
  
up a little flavor in his role within the Autobot forces, which is his one of his key  
  
philosophies when conducting a mission.  
  
Hound and Bumblebee were comforting themselves sightseeing over the vast  
  
fields of grass, plants and trees. Throughout the expanses of the forest they didn't  
  
notice that they were being observed by Laserbeak, whom was hiding somewhere in  
  
the region undetected.  
  
"I think we can set up the gear here, guys," Hound ventured.  
  
Jazz grew irascible the moment Hound had spoken, and gestured, "I can't  
  
believe we're wasting our time looking for energon when we should be fighting the  
  
Decepticons before they try to harm more humans."  
  
The other two Autobots knew of Jazz's irritation. Bumblebee was the first to  
  
offer him to cool off. "Easy, buddy. It's only reconnaissance. Once we've mapped out  
  
  
  
the area and find the energon, the others can help us secure it so we can end this war  
  
once and for all."  
  
"Sounds interesting. But let's not forget, the Decepticons needs energon just as  
  
much as we do. Which is why I think we should blitz them now while they're still wide  
  
open."  
  
Hound intervened, "I don't think so, Jazz. Optimus knows that the Deceptions will  
  
be prepared if we were to rush them too early. That's what we're here for, look for the  
  
energon and take it before they do."  
  
"I know, Hound. It just burns me up whenever those bozos are up to no good."  
  
All three of the Autobots paused for a moment, and Hound just simply smiled.  
  
"No need to worry, Jazz. Once we've mapped the area and secure the energon,  
  
we can figure out what to do about the Decepticons later. For now, let's unload some of  
  
the gear Wheeljack gave us so we can find what we're looking for."  
  
Jazz's internal circuitry began to loosen a little, and the recon team continued  
  
onward with their task. Laserbeak finished recording his observation, while he slowly  
  
soared under the shadows of the trees and escaped from his post in a stealthy manner.  
  
Laserbeak was flying at low altitude and continued onward back to HQ to ready his  
  
report to the one being the Decepticons fear most..  
  
  
  
Megatron sat patiently in the command center of the Nemesis to await the report  
  
of Laserbeak. Soundwave, one of his most loyal servants, stood quietly beside his  
  
leader with arms crossed. The Decepticons were preparing for a bombardment mission  
  
  
  
against an American town soon, so they could lure the Autobots out and finish them off  
  
in one fell swoop, like an eagle charging in from the sky to take down its prey.  
  
Laserbeak arrived within a span of four hours, perching his talons on Megatron's  
  
left arm when he entered the room. "Ah, Laserbeak. You're one of the few servants  
  
who's never failed me. What information have you brought forth this time, my loyal  
  
minion?"  
  
Soundwave opened his chest module; with Laserbeak transformed into cassette  
  
mode and entering the module as it closed shut. "Laserbeak brings news: playing  
  
back."  
  
The speech lasted about ten minutes. At the end of the recording, Megatron  
  
began pondering his next move against his enemies. He interfaced himself with the  
  
comm system on the right of his chair. "Starscream, summon the Insecticons, we're  
  
going to let them feast upon those who dare to try to outwit me. Once they've done so,  
  
we'll secure the energon deposit in Colorado for ourselves, re-supply our forces, and  
  
destroy the Autobots!" The Decepicon commander made a grin on his face and let out  
  
an evil laugh.  
  
  
  
Hound was busy deploying the energon probing equipment. Consisting of  
  
a radar dish, some compressed circuit boards and a computer containing all the data  
  
needed to search for energon, he assembled it carefully, checking every part of the  
  
mini-sensor array to make sure it's in working order. He activated the switch, bringing  
  
Wheejack's invention to life. "Yes! The sensor array's on-line! Now, let's see. there  
  
  
  
must be something around here somewhere.." Hound was savoring this moment, out  
  
enjoying nature while doing his job. He didn't like the idea of living in areas where  
  
everything was all mechanical, which was why he was one of the ideal Autobot  
  
candidates to seek out and secure the energon the Autobots needed.  
  
Energon is a raw and valuable source of power which is used by both the  
  
Autobots and Decepticons to fuel their armies and fight. Both factions are like the  
  
people on Earth needing food and a fresh supply of oxygen, they need energon to  
  
maintain their infrastructure and survive.  
  
It took several sweeps for the sensor array to seek out the raw energon in the  
  
forest. Three minutes later a dot appeared on Hound's screen, capturing his attention  
  
instantly. Jazz, in robot mode, was leaning against the base of a huge tree near  
  
Hound's left side. Bumblebee was still in his vehicle mode, keeping on the alert in case  
  
enemy forces arrive. "Guys, I think I've found something," Hound informed them.  
  
The other two Autobots rushed toward behind him, and looked curiously at the  
  
same screen their friend was looking at. "What is it?" both asked in unison.  
  
"Energon. About 13 miles west of our position."  
  
"Wait a second, why didn't we detect it earlier?" Bumblebee inquired.  
  
"Dunno. We'll have to go and take a closer look. I'll relay a message back to  
  
base so they know that we may have found what we were looking for."  
  
"Let's just hope we don't have to face any problems along the way," Bumblebee  
  
said. In his mind, he knew that the Decepticons would show up at some point during the  
  
course of their mission. The young warrior wouldn't be very pleased about the fact of  
  
  
  
how dead right he was.  
  
The three Insecticons, Kickback, Shrapnel, and Bombshell, flew over the horizon.  
  
Their orders were clear: to capture or destroy the Autobot reconnaissance group and  
  
secure the energon deposit; by force, if necessary. All of them were flying in robot mode  
  
and arming their weapons. Kickback prepared shells embedded in his flight module  
  
in case he wasted his ammunition ran out. Soon, the Insecticons would get their fair  
  
share of the destruction that will ensue.  
  
  
  
Jazz, Bumblebee, and Hound, all in vehicle mode, drove towards the indicated  
  
location of hidden deposit, their gears in full acceleration. Hound had the sensor array  
  
hauled in his cargo compartment, interfaced with his scope to keep looking. Bumblebee  
  
trampled over a few piles of pebbles and rocks during the group's inbound travel. The  
  
Autobots didn't notice until five seconds later that they were being followed by the  
  
Insecticons, whom were just several meters above them.  
  
"Guys, we've got company," Bumlbebee warned.  
  
"There's rocks and hills in front of us; we should transform and use them as  
  
cover," Hound suggested.  
  
"Then let's get to it!" Jazz exclaimed.  
  
As soon as they reached their intended destination, all three of the Autobots  
  
transformed and dove for cover behind the rocks and hills, all of them unveiling their  
  
weapons and firing back at their pursuers. The Insecticons broke formation and made  
  
landed behind trees in front of their targets, firing their weapons upon the three lone  
  
  
  
Autobots.  
  
Hound and his two compatriots continued falling back, with the Insecticons  
  
advancing on their position. He gripped the interfaced radar on a handle with his left  
  
arm while he fired his pistol with his other hand. Just several more meters.  
  
After Kickback wasted some shells, he waited for a minute to allow his machine  
  
gun to recoil and soon fired again. "Keep firing," Bombshell commanded. "If we keep  
  
this up, the Autobots will lead us to the energon and we can secure it for Megatron."  
  
"Good idea," Shrapnel agreed. "Let's push them back so we can chew them  
  
up after they find the energon for us."  
  
Bombshell and Kickback nodded, turning back to their attention to the Autobots,  
  
continuing to rain down fire on their prey, with Shrapnel following behind.  
  
Jazz wasn't happy that the Autobots were being followed by just a bunch of bugs.  
  
He suggested to Hound that he's going to sneak around behind each Insecticon and  
  
take them out one by one.  
  
"You sure you want to?"  
  
"Without a doubt," Jazz said.  
  
"Alright, we'll split up. Bumblebee, send out an SOS back to base that we're  
  
under attack. After that, help Jazz sneak around the Insecticons and take them out from  
  
behind."  
  
Bumblebee heard Hound's call and nodded back to him while recharging his  
  
pistol. "I've already sent one out. And we'll take those freaks out before they even know  
  
what hit them."  
  
  
  
Jazz was focusing on firing at varied arcs on the pursuing enemy troops;  
  
he crouched and advanced toward his unwary foes, weapon ready. Bumblebee was  
  
only a few feet behind, dashing through the bushes and trees to catch up with his  
  
comrade. All of a sudden, there only air and silence. The enemy's firing has ceased,  
  
waiting for their quarries to come so they can ambush them. Hound stopped for a  
  
moment, turning his head back, using his scope to see why the firing has stopped for  
  
some reason. He didn't waste time to discern the fact that the Insecticons either  
  
retreated or were preparing a sneak attack of their own. He focused on the task at hand,  
  
the blips on his energon sensor getting louder. Only a few more yards left.  
  
The scout's body froze once he was standing on the hidden deposit. He took a  
  
closer examination with his optical sensors and without a doubt knew that it was  
  
energon. Pressing a few switches on his left forearm, his back compartment unloaded a  
  
laser drill. He activated it without difficulty and began mining for the precious material.  
  
Unbeknownst to the lone robot was Shrapnel lopping on the top of his head.  
  
"What the - -!?  
  
"Surprise!"  
  
Struggling to get the invader off, Hound pull both his arms upward to grab  
  
Shrapnel. All that was heard was a loud splash after the Insecticon was thrown in the  
  
center of a large mud puddle.  
  
"Takes care of you, you stinking parasite," Hound uttered as he went back to his  
  
task. As he turned, two more of the Insecticons stood in front of him, arms crossed, their  
  
weapons drawn and set.  
  
  
  
"You still have to deal with us, Autobot," Bombshell hissed. He unfolded his arms,  
  
his mortar launcher mounted on his head ready to hit his victim. A grenade popped and  
  
headed straight for Hound, hitting him right in the chest, knocking him dead flat on his  
  
back. He lifted his head to take a look at his wound, which didn't look good from what he  
  
could see. There was a huge set of circuitry exposed on his right torso, and another hit  
  
or two of Bombshell's explosives would demolish him into a million pieces. For him, it  
  
wasn't a very pleasant thought.  
  
Bombshell knew that he had the scout at his mercy, "I think I might have some  
  
uses for you, Autobot."  
  
"NO!!!" Hound knew what this meant. Bombshell was preparing one of his  
  
cerebral shells that are specially designed to control the mind of a victim; either human  
  
or robot. For a human, the shell must travel through the bloodstream, up to the cerebral  
  
cortex. The shell then releases thousands of wires to the neural dendrites, giving Bomb-  
  
shell rule over a person's thoughts. For a robot, the process is similar, except a hole is  
  
carved by the shell with laser torches if the victim's head has a metal casing. The shell  
  
can only be removed through careful surgery.  
  
Hound attempted to look for something to use as a weapon, since his plasma  
  
pistol was out of sight, and his shoulder-mounted rocket launcher was knocked out of  
  
commission. All he could see now was a log about seven feet long that he could use as  
  
a clubbing tool; then he could make a break for cover. Was it worth the risk?  
  
Perhaps, since the soldier's life was on the line here. If Hound and his two compatriots  
  
were killed, who would have any idea that the Autobots back at home base would be  
  
  
  
attacked?  
  
Considering the odds, Hound couldn't let that happen. If he was to go down, he  
  
was taking the Insecticons down with him. Calculating what the chances were, he  
  
pondered whether he should roll right or left.  
  
Left seems to be more acceptable, he thought. There were bushes he could dive  
  
into for safety. Bombshell and Kickback walked closer to their quarry, with Kickback  
  
turning his back in front of him to see if there was anyone else coming. Now was  
  
Hound's opportunity to strike an Insecticon down, and Bombshell was the nearest and  
  
unfortunate being to be struck by the log that Hound grabbed.  
  
The enemy soldier was knocked right across the face with immense force,  
  
sending Bombshell seventeen feet across from his partner. Kickback froze in place,  
  
caught completely by surprise of what had just transpired.  
  
Hound took advantage of Kickback's pause and made a run for it. He executed a  
  
executed a sharp dive for the bushes, with Kickback firing away at him.  
  
"Come out, Autobot. You cannot hide forever!" Kickback bellowed.  
  
And unfortunately, Kickback was right. Hound could only hide for a few minutes  
  
from where he's standing. His only hope now was that Jazz and Bumblebee heard the  
  
weapons fire from afar. Three minutes have already passed, and Kickback was not too  
  
far from losing his patience. "All right, then. I guess I'll just have to weed you out  
  
myself, and then I'll rip out your logic circuits so I can chew them up."  
  
Kickback stood in place for a moment after he heard the roar of engines. Two  
  
cars came in rapidly behind him, both transforming in midair.  
  
  
  
"Sorry, Kickback. I think we should put your meal on hold," Jazz said. He threw  
  
the weight of his left fist into Kickback's faceplate, sending him sideways to the ground.  
  
Both of the Autobots landed, unloading their weapons and keeping them trained on  
  
whatever Insecticon they could see. So far, the only one present was Kickback.  
  
"Hound! You out there?!" Jazz yelled.  
  
"Right here," the scout bellowed. He came out of his cover, his left hand covering  
  
his gaping wound; walking slowly towards his comrades.  
  
"You okay?" Bumblebee inquired.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Hound responded, ever curious about the delay of his  
  
comrades. His body twitched due to the heavy damage on his upper torso. Bumblebee  
  
paced closer to his friend, wrapping Hound's right arm behind his neck and right  
  
shoulder. "Easy, there."  
  
Jazz dashed towards the area where the energon was located. He used his  
  
optical scanner to look for any faint traces of the residue. It was heavily concentrated  
  
right under where Jazz was standing. "Man, the energon deposit's intensity is huge!  
  
This is enough to supply any force and wipe out anyone of both military and civilian  
  
occupation. I'm glad we got here before the 'Cons did." Jazz felt relieved. At  
  
least, for the moment at hand.  
  
"You think your signal managed to reach the base in time, Bumblebee?" Hound  
  
asked.  
  
"I'm pretty sure. Now, we can only wait until help arrives," the youngster said, his  
  
tone patient, hoping that fate will be gentle to them.  
  
  
  
"Let's just hope they get here in time." Hound said weakly. All three members of  
  
the recon group stepped towards the energon deposit, where it is still hidden, but not  
  
dormant.  
  
Shrapnel was not too happy. He rose from the puddle, drenched in brown muck  
  
and dirt. He wasn't going to let Hound go unscathed, which he wasn't at the moment.  
  
He armed his energy pistol and looked for the Autobot with his optical sensor. Three  
  
blips were right behind him. He made a sharp turn of his body and headed towards the  
  
location of the recon group, silently and smartly. All three were standing within sight the  
  
moment he arrived.  
  
The Autobots mining equipment were still in place, and there was no sign of his  
  
Insecticon brothers. To his anger, he saw his brothers laying on the ground. They were  
  
still alive, just stunned. He would assault the Autobots by himself without a second  
  
thought. Using the trees and bushes as his shields, he recklessly began firing away at  
  
the recon group, his blast blowing up pieces of group and exposing some of the  
  
energon.  
  
Jazz broke off from the group and dove for the hills, his weapon still in hand.  
  
"Bumblebee, you and Hound take cover! I'll take care of the attacker!"  
  
"Got it!"  
  
Bumblebee tried to drag Hound's heavy weight through to the layer of trees. The  
  
bigger robot's heaviness slightly slowed him down. Once they managed to settle down,  
  
Hound was put against the trunk of a tree, Bumblebee closely guarding him.  
  
Jazz was focusing on looking for whoever was attacking them, which he  
  
  
  
concluded was Shrapnel, since he was the only one who recovered aside from his  
  
two brothers that were knocked down.  
  
Shrapnel swiveled his head, looking for the Autobots. All of them scrambled for  
  
Safety. Cowards, they are, he thought. But I will not allow them to escape my wrath, that  
  
easily.  
  
Jazz locked his arms around Shrapnel's neck in a chokehold. "Got you!" He  
  
exclaimed in victory.  
  
"You think you've caught me that easily, Autobot?"  
  
Shrapnel elbowed Jazz in his midsection and swung his right fist towards his  
  
opponent's chest, sending him straight into the energon drill that Hound unloaded  
  
earlier. Hound's drill blew up into several fragments, tearing away at the grass that it  
  
stood upon, and revealed the energon that was protected beneath the grounds.  
  
"At last! Megatron will be pleased!" Shrapnel howled. He had to get rid of his  
  
opposition quickly in order to achieve his brethren's goal. Jazz found himself grazed  
  
on his left shoulder, grinding his teeth at the damage done to him.  
  
That slimy little. Jazz thought in frustration.  
  
Jazz knew the Insecticon was going to strike him at any moment now. He had  
  
at least thirty seconds to figure out what to do about this problem. Shrapnel dashed as  
  
fast as he could toward his downed foe, whom was being a hindrance to his mission.  
  
But he was too late to stop himself when Jazz hoisted himself back up and  
  
sharply swung his right leg towards Shrapnel's head, resulting in a fairly large dent on  
  
the side of his metal faceplate. The Insecticon was still standing on one foot with his  
  
  
  
right knee as leverage. He drew his grenade launcher but staggered back due to some  
  
static in his optical sensors. The instant Shrapnel unveiled his launcher was the moment  
  
Jazz knew he was in big trouble. He dove past the pockets of hidden energon in the  
  
middle of a patch of tall grass that he could use as brief cover. Two grenades exploded  
  
within five feet behind Jazz, splattering piles of dirt and grime over his legs.  
  
He must be shooting blind.  
  
Both robots didn't notice that an energy surge formed above the energon,  
  
which resulted from Shrapnel's loss of concentration while aiming his weapon. The void  
  
continued growing in size and magnitude.  
  
Kickback and Bombshell woke back up from their unconsciousness and realized  
  
in ten seconds that a vortex was right in front of them, sucking in anyone who comes  
  
near it.  
  
"Brothers! Help me!" Shrapnel shrieked.  
  
"You fool! What are you doing?!!" Bombshell ranted. The recovering Insecticons  
  
transformed in their alternate forms and flew towards their brother, whom was one of  
  
the victims that was about to be sucked in.  
  
Bumblebee and Hound noticed the vortex as well, transforming in vehicle mode  
  
and drove towards Jazz. Jazz was gripping the root of a plant, the strength of the void  
  
ever increasing. "Guys, I could use a hand, here."  
  
"Hang on tight! We're almost there!" Bumblebee responded. He and Hound  
  
converted back to robot modes, coming to Jazz's aid as swiftly as they could. Hound  
  
turned back to his younger comrade and said: "Bumblebee, I'm going to try and rescue  
  
  
  
Jazz. See if you could find anything that I can hold on to."  
  
"Already found," Bumblebee replied, his arms wrapped over a huge log. Hound  
  
grabbed the base roots and signaled his friend to extend the lifeline so he could get to  
  
Jazz.  
  
"You came at just the right moment."  
  
"Don't waste time on talk, man! Grab my leg, and Bumblebee will heave us back  
  
up!"  
  
"Got you loud and clear!"  
  
To Jazz's dismay, the Insecticons were still present on the battlefield, firing their  
  
weapons upon their prey. They were all standing against the trunks of a few trees to  
  
prevent themselves from being pulled in. A barrage of bullets and lasers chipped  
  
through Hound's left arm, forcing him to release his grip from the root. Jazz was hit face  
  
first due to the weight of Hound's back, sending both Autobots flying through the  
  
anomaly , which augmented the gravitational pull tenfold. It was like a hurricane that  
  
picked up and spun objects with immense force until it either ceased or moved  
  
elsewhere to carry on its destruction.  
  
The trees soon began to break as the vortex continued to grow in size and  
  
intensity; with the Insecticons being the latter creatures to be drawn into the void,  
  
frantically firing their weapons at the vortex. Instead they only fed it energy and  
  
strengthened the pull. Shrapnel was the first of the three Insecticons to be consumed,  
  
following by Kickback. Bombshell grew unhappy since he was the last of his brothers  
  
who was dragged in, uttering out Megatron's name for help until he disappeared.  
  
  
  
"Jazz! Hound!"  
  
Bumblebee saw his comrades consumed in the vortex. He didn't even bother  
  
thinking about the consequences of this action, and instead decided to share the same  
  
fate. With the already enormous power of the pull from the anomaly, he was pulled like  
  
metal being attracted to a magnet. Once he vanished inside of the vortex, it shrunk and  
  
disappeared. There was no trace of either of the groups that were present, only dead  
  
silence. 


	2. Chapter 1: Deadly Consequences

Chapter 1 - Deadly Consequences  
  
  
  
Optimus Prime brooded quietly in front of the monitor screens of the  
  
bridge on the Ark with a long face. Contact with the Autobot recon team had  
  
been lost just nineteen minutes after Bumblebee sent an SOS requesting help.  
  
Thirty minutes before that Hound sent a communiqué saying that there was an  
  
energy surge detected by Wheeljack's sensor array, so the recon team decided  
  
they were going to check it out. Now all three of his men have suddenly gone  
  
missing.  
  
Prime's first notion about the situation was that Hound's team got caught  
  
in a skirmish with the Decepticon troops while searching for the energon. He  
  
knows that Megatron, as stubborn as he is in his goal for conquest, would do  
  
whatever it takes to get his hands on large quatities of energon.  
  
But then there lays another mystery: the anomaly, having suddenly  
  
appeared after weapons fire between the Autobot troops and their assailants, is  
  
somehow connected with the disappearance of his men.  
  
I don't like this one bit.  
  
Ironhide came in to the command center a few seconds later, distraught  
  
as ever with no action occurring at the moment. He is the oldest and is the most  
  
battletested of the Autobots. For this particular robot, he'd be more than happy to  
  
go head-to-head with all the Decepticons. That aspiration was part of his  
  
programming ever since he existed on the Cybertron, the home planet of both  
  
the Autobots and their adversaries. In any case concerning the enemy, he'd prefer  
  
action over words in order to prevent disasters from occurring.  
  
  
  
"Anything new on the anomaly, Ironhide?"  
  
Ironhide frowned, exclaiming himself with his usual southern tone,  
  
"I'm afraid not, boss. I guess the anomaly's decided to keep quiet. Prime, to be  
  
honest with you, I don't like the feeling of this. Three of our guys were sent out on  
  
a recon mission looking for energon, and what's the result? All of them suddenly  
  
go missing, after sending out an SOS back to base after a possible and very  
  
likely tussle with the 'Cons, with the appearance of the anomaly afterwards."  
  
"I get the idea of how you feel, old friend. But right now, let's focus on the  
  
matter at hand and figure out what that thing is."  
  
"Right," Ironhide said dryly, keeping his eyes locked to his monitor screen.  
  
"Hmmm, looks like the signature appears to be purely energy in nature. Its  
  
base configuration is exactly like the energon found here and back on Cybertron,  
  
only its emission levels are much higher." Ironhide continued on his analysis  
  
chuckling in delight of the irregularity he was examining, "Well, I'll be, this thing's  
  
placed over what the humans would call a gold mine. Running more chec - - "  
  
Ironhide froze in place, peering his eyes towards the incoming data from  
  
the sensors.  
  
"Ironhide, what is it?"  
  
"Hello. well what do we have here?"  
  
"Did you find anything?"  
  
Prime walked over, looking over Ironhide's shoulders and observing the  
  
monitor screen from behind him. "Ironhide, did you find anything?" he repeated.  
  
  
  
"That's strange. This anomaly's also emitting something else. I don't  
  
recognize the other energy signatures this thing's emitting. Its energy emission  
  
levels are off the scale."  
  
Prime couldn't agree more. The mystery becomes even more vague, and  
  
neither the Autobot commander nor his personal bodyguard had a clue as to  
  
what kind of unknown characteristics the phenomenon was displaying. The  
  
thought of his men venturing into a place isolated far from their own time and  
  
people was something he couldn't standing to contemplate. During the Great  
  
War on Cybertron, no Autobot would leave their own behind on the field of  
  
battle. The current crisis at hand was no different. It was either that the Autobots  
  
would stand together, or fall as one.  
  
"Maybe Wheeljack and Perceptor can make something out of this,"  
  
Ironhide recommended.  
  
"I couldn't agree more," Prime answered curtly. He stepped to the right  
  
side of Ironhide and laced his right index finger on one of the communications  
  
console buttons. The ship's speaker system boom loudly, with enough noise  
  
for all the Autobot crew members to pause in their current tasks.  
  
"Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. I  
  
repeat: Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. All  
  
other Autobots may resume their current tasks."  
  
  
  
The two main scientific geniuses of the Autobot crew left their current  
  
  
  
posts to the bridge of the Ark where Optimus Prime held sway. Wheeljack, being  
  
one of the two, is a mechanical engineer, having been gifted with the ingenuity  
  
and knowledge of many other engineers that lived and died that preceded him  
  
back on Cybertron. Perceptor was currently the lead scientist of the Autobot  
  
forces, researching various phenomena ranging from stars to planets to  
  
biology, ecosystems and so forth. From time-to-time he whenever he is put in a  
  
situation he would become too deeply involved in the matter; a scientific  
  
investigation can be included on his list.  
  
They didn't have much farther to go. Both of the robots strode through  
  
several decks of the ship to reach the bridge of the Ark.  
  
"Hey, Perceptor. You think you have any idea as to what Optimus wants  
  
with us?" Wheeljack inquired during their tread.  
  
"Perhaps they have a mission for us that may be of scientific importance,"  
  
Perceptor smiled curtly.  
  
"Doubt that. I heard rumors that Hound, Jazz, and Bumblebee suddenly  
  
went missing looking for energon during recon duty."  
  
"Any idea as to the cause of their disappearance?"  
  
"I don't have a clue."  
  
Perceptor kept on smiling, "No need to worry, friend. Once Optimus tells  
  
us what's going we can begin conducting a search and rescue mission for the  
  
three chaps. Say, is it possible that they've gotten into trouble with the  
  
Decepticons?"  
  
  
  
Wheeljack shook his head, "I wish I knew, but I don't."  
  
"Then I guess we're about to find out," Perceptor said, his tone and  
  
facial expression changing into seriousness.  
  
The doors to the bridge opened with a swish, with the tall forms of  
  
Optimus Prime and Ironhide near the sensor monitor screens.  
  
"You called us, sir?" Wheeljack offered. For an engineer, he always  
  
extended courtesy towards others; be it human, Autobot, or a Decepticon, he  
  
would command the respect of others, unless forced otherwise to dismiss that  
  
particular courtesy.  
  
"Gentlemen, I am in need of your insight and expertise. Apparently the  
  
databanks of Teletraan-1 doesn't have any records regarding a certain power  
  
signature from a possibly alien phenomenon."  
  
The words mentioned by Prime captured Perceptor's attention  
  
immediately. His fingers from his left hand traced his chin, showing an indication  
  
of curiosity. "Perhaps I can take a look?"  
  
"No problem," Ironhide answered, stepping aside from the sensor console  
  
to allow the Autobot scientist to take his place. Wheeljack slightly tapped Ironhide  
  
on his right shoulder. "Mind if I take a look as well?"  
  
Ironhide gestured the engineer to go ahead. Wheeljack nodded and said  
  
thanks as he went perching on the head rest on top of the seat that Perceptor  
  
was currently occupying.  
  
"Hmm, this does look somewhat recognizable."  
  
  
  
Perceptor typed in a command for Teletraan-1 to scan for all the available  
  
records regarding the unknown pattern being displayed by the phenomenon.  
  
Prime stood behind Perceptor with arms crossed, waiting patiently for the results  
  
from the search. When the Ark's supercomputer finished its search, Perceptor  
  
froze in his place, squinting towards the screen. He turned to Wheeljack, whom  
  
was at the right of him, and asked:  
  
"Wheeljack, come take a look at the monitor. Do you recognize this?"  
  
Wheeljack turned his attention to the screen, leaning a hand on the  
  
console to balance his momentum. "This looks a little familiar."  
  
There were more words that was going to come out, but he stood back up  
  
and just stared at the screen. "I don't believe it."  
  
Ironhide seemed a little blunt after Wheeljack's remark, "Believe what?"  
  
Wheeljack ignored the directness of the battle-hardened Ironhide. He kept  
  
his focus back to the screen. "Perceptor, are we seeing what I think we're  
  
seeing?"  
  
"I'm afraid so. Optimus, the anomaly that we're looking at right now  
  
appears to be showing signs of a temporal flux."  
  
" A temporal flux?" Prime paused for a moment, then continued: "How come  
  
there wasn't any record of it in the databanks?"  
  
"There's very little information regarding them, sir. That's because few of  
  
records about this particular phenomenon ever existed back home on Cybertron.  
  
Back home there are currently only two reports of this kind of irregularity ever occurring:  
  
  
  
Zeron IV in the Zeron system, and Kiros IX, near one of Cybertron's moons. The  
  
foundation of the phenomenon's existence was built mainly because of rumors  
  
spreading about. Unfortunately, they were never proven and were dismissed by  
  
the Cybertronian scientific community."  
  
"Until now," Prime added.  
  
"Indeed," Perceptor said. The four Autobots soon grew fascinated about  
  
this particular discovery. Soon Wheeljack and his fellow compatriot Perceptor  
  
were going to make history: giving actual proof that temporal fluxes exist in the  
  
universe. Both of them thought how much of an honor it would be that upon this  
  
one finding, to return to Cybertron and be greeted by many of the greatest  
  
intellectual minds that the homeworld has to offer.  
  
"Now the only question that remains is how did it get here," Prime began.  
  
"I believe I can explain," Wheeljack proposed. "Usually anomalies of this  
  
magnitude could be only be formed with certain elements and large quantities of  
  
energon. They can be formed of natural causes, but they can be created artificially if  
  
if the energon was focused in one spot." The engineer pointed towards another one  
  
of the monitor screens that the four robots were setting their eyes upon. "From what the  
  
surroundings were, there were some potassium mixed in with the energon. Somewhat  
  
unusual, but not uncommon back home. If the laser were to hit the energon dead on,  
  
and boom, it would create a large explosion with your temporal flux resulting  
  
afterwards. Then it sucks any moving being that's within its range, say about 20-30  
  
meters. Once its gravitational pull goes to work, nothing within its reach can get out.  
  
  
  
But, after it sucks in anything for twenty minutes, its drag lessens, which allows  
  
anything to come within distance for a only a certain amount of time until it returns to  
  
its original state. Think of it like a snake that needs a long time to digest its prey."  
  
"That's one hell of an assessment for something like that," Ironhide uttered.  
  
Prime nodded in agreement, and faced himself towards the Ark's engineer,  
  
"Wheeljack, do you have any idea of how long the flux will last before it goes back to its  
  
original condition?"  
  
The engineer shook his head in uncertainty, "I don't know, maybe two, three  
  
hours at most."  
  
Prime didn't look very happy. His men were in trouble and he had to act fast in  
  
order to rescue them and get them back. "Then we don't have much time. The anomaly  
  
appeared just twenty five minutes ago."  
  
"I think I have a solution to that, sir." Perceptor interrupted.  
  
"Wheeljack and I were conducting some tests with a prototype warp gate down  
  
near the cargo hold. I believe we can use that to transport ourselves to the location of  
  
where Hound's team went missing."  
  
Perceptor's proposition raised the Autobot commander's hopes a little. Wheel-  
  
knew of the risks involved with using the gate, since he built most of it himself. So he  
  
said, "There's still one problem. The gate is still in its initial testing phases, and there's  
  
still some problems with the circuitry that I need to correct."  
  
"I'd like to offer Wheeljack my assistance to repairing the gate. It may not be  
  
perfect, but at least once its fixed it will be in optimal condition. But, there is a number  
  
  
  
limit on how many of us can enter through the gate."  
  
"Shoot," Prime said.  
  
"Six of us, every ten minutes."  
  
Prime spent some time trying to organize his plans for rescue operation. In this  
  
case, every minute counted. "Then we'll have to make the best of what time we have  
  
left. Wheeljack, Perceptor, head to the cargo hold and repair the gate as quickly as you  
  
can. Ironhide, have Red Alert, Ratchet, Inferno, Huffer, and Brawn meet me in the  
  
armory. We're going to get our gear quickly and get ready to conduct the rescue  
  
operation."  
  
"Will do." Ironhide called, immediately leaving the scene.  
  
Optimus Prime once again turned his attention towards Wheeljack and  
  
Perceptor. "One more thing Wheeljack: can you adapt the warp gate's technology to  
  
create portable warp generators?"  
  
"I believe I can. What exactly did you have in mind?"  
  
Wheeljack gave a look of curiosity towards the Autobot commander, whom  
  
strongly replied: "We're going to have control that temporal vortex, so that the  
  
surroundings can be safe for everyone to be in. Once it's secured, we'll send in teams  
  
to initiate the search for Hound's group."  
  
"Got it."  
  
"And try not to get yourself hurt on the job."  
  
Wheeljack just simply chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."  
  
Perceptor and his associate then rushed off to the cargo bay to begin the repairs  
  
  
  
on the warp gate. Ironhide already departed from the command center to some of the  
  
robots that Prime had summoned to the shuttle bay. Now was the Autobots' chance to  
  
see what surprises this new world has in store through the gateway.  
  
  
  
Bumblebee, Jazz, and Hound were all laying unconscious, flat on the ground,  
  
out somewhere beyond the premises of a populated city or town. When Hound woke  
  
up, the circuits through his head throbbing; he groaned at the pain and tried to recall  
  
the events of what had just transpired.  
  
Recon mission. energon. Insecticons!  
  
He saw that his two partners have not recovered yet. "Guys, get up! We've got  
  
to look for the Insecticons!"  
  
"Wha -- ?" Bumblebee heaved himself back on his hands, then managed to get  
  
back on his feet again.  
  
"We gotta go look for the Insecticons," Hound repeated.  
  
"You can say that again. Man, that was not pretty." The voice of Jazz echoed  
  
through his brain. "Tell me about it. Where are we, anyway?"  
  
"Not sure, I'll have to take a look."  
  
Hound tried to get himself up, but noticed that he lost his left arm after the  
  
the rather nasty trip through the temporal flux, which severed some of the circuitry  
  
through his elbow, breaking off the left arm up to that point. "Blast it. I lost my left  
  
hand."  
  
"Hang on. I'll help."  
  
  
  
Bumblebee rushed to the scene once again, wrapping Hound's right arm on his  
  
right shoulder. "Can you still walk?"  
  
"Yeah, my legs seems to be working fine."  
  
To the younger Autobot, Hound looked pretty weak, but his recovery just looked  
  
amazing to him. Hound asked Bumblebee to let him go so he could take a look at their  
  
surroundings. Bumblebee released him in hoping that the Autobot scout could find out  
  
where they were. Instinctively, Hound knew it was Earth, just not the Earth that they  
  
were previously in.  
  
"How do you know?" Jazz asked.  
  
"I have this gut feeling. It doesn't feel natural."  
  
"Feels natural to me."  
  
"Well it doesn't for me," Hound countered.  
  
Bumblebee became mute about the situation. He and his teammates had no  
  
idea where they were and where the Insecticons were. For all he knows, they could  
  
have recovered and started terrorizing anyone that came close to them. Or, they  
  
may have been destroyed during the transit to the new Earth. He thought: They were all  
  
in stable condition, so it's very unlikely that they were destroyed. Decepticons have  
  
determination just like we do, and they'll do whatever it takes to strengthen and  
  
achieve their goal of conquest.  
  
"Bumblebee, you okay there, buddy?"  
  
His mind shifted back to reality. It was Jazz, his arms crossed while waiting  
  
patiently for his friend's answer. "It's nothing," Bumblebee lied, turning away from Jazz.  
  
  
  
"Buddy, I know there's something going on in that head of yours. What'cha  
  
thinking?"  
  
"You got me. It's the Insecticons. I have this really bad feeling that they're out  
  
somewhere frightening people while we're here trying to find out where we are right  
  
now."  
  
"No need to worry, man. Prime will definitely be looking for us. We'll figure out  
  
what to do about the Insecticons later. Right now, we need a place to take cover and  
  
hide."  
  
Bumblebee had no choice but to conform with his fellow soldier, and nodded in  
  
acknowledgment. Hound interrupted both of them.  
  
"Guys, I think I know where we are now. Judging by the terrain, I'd say we're  
  
near Hong Kong."  
  
"Hong Kong?!!" Jazz snapped. "What are we doing out here miles away from  
  
the United States?!"  
  
"Jazz, we just got transported here just forty-five minutes ago."  
  
"Still - -" Jazz froze, trying to come up with a sentence, but couldn't find any  
  
words to express his surprise.  
  
"That thing that we got through, it could've been a gateway. It's the only  
  
explanation I can come up with of how we got here."  
  
"This is getting even more worse. Man, this stinks," Jazz grumbled, kicking the  
  
grass in irritation.  
  
"There's a city not far from here, fifty-two miles southward. There's also some  
  
  
  
trees we can use as camouflage so we aren't seen by anyone."  
  
"Guess I'm willing to go with that plan. What do you think, Bumblebee?"  
  
"I'm in."  
  
"Good. Let's head on out, guys."  
  
"Right," Jazz and Bumblebee said in unison. All three Autobots transformed into  
  
their vehicle modes and drove towards their destination. The terrain felt rough during  
  
their travel, and they haven't faced any opposition so far. Luck appeared to be on their  
  
side for the time being. Hound stopped in place after trekking only seventeen miles.  
  
"Wait," he commanded quietly, his fellow robots lowering their tones also.  
  
"What is it?" Bumblebee asked.  
  
"It's the Insecticons. I just detected their heat signatures forty miles ahead of us."  
  
"Are you sure? How come I can't de - - Wait, I can sense them now. Looks like  
  
my sensors need a fix-up."  
  
"We'll have to worry about later. How would you boys like to join me on a little  
  
hunt for some bugs?" Hound offered jauntily.  
  
"I'd be more than happy to."  
  
"Count me in on it," Jazz said voluntarily, giving thumb up with his right hand.  
  
"Well then. Let the games begin."  
  
All three of the Autobots continued their voyage and armed their weapons to  
  
prepare to combat their adversaries.  
  
  
  
Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell walked past some trees to find a spot to  
  
  
  
set up a camp. They weren't happy about being on this alternate Earth.  
  
Communications to their home base was lost, and they haven't a single clue as to  
  
where they were. Shrapnel's brothers grew especially irritant at towards him for his  
  
incompetence. Their mission was completely jeopardized due to this particular mishap,  
  
and they each knew the price of failure once they returned back to Megatron.  
  
But, they managed to weaken the Autobots that have arrived with them.  
  
Shrapnel wanted to find a way to amend his error by helping his brothers find the three  
  
stray Autobots and slaughter them all. Soon, his luck grew, with the heat signatures of  
  
Hound's team. "Brothers, we have company," he warned.  
  
Bombshell and Kickback nodded in acknowledgment; they needed a plan in  
  
order to successfully ambush the astray enemy troops.  
  
"Maybe if we finish off those three Autobots, and find a way back, Megatron  
  
will be so - - " Shrapnel exclaimed in glee. His sentence was cut off at the end when  
  
his two brethren simply told him to silence himself. They believed that he already  
  
proved himself enough of a nuisance and a fool; and his stupidity still didn't make up for  
  
him getting them here and impeding the Insecticons of their original objective: to  
  
secure the energon.  
  
Shrapnel tried to compromise with his kinsmen, "But - - brothers."  
  
"SHUT UP, SHRAPNEL!!" Kickback boomed.  
  
You should be put to scrap for screwing up our primary mission! Did you really  
  
think that Megatron would be pleased with us just by killing only a few measly  
  
Autobots?! Let's just stop talking and find those punks. At least we'll have something  
  
  
  
to chew up once they're dead." As soon as the Insecticon finished, there was only  
  
reticence between Shrapnel and his two brothers, so they just simply waited for their  
  
targets to come to them.  
  
  
  
One giant mech kneeled under heavy cover where nature was dominant of its  
  
surroundings. Its metallic shape was defined through its human-like appearance, its  
  
blades sheathed on its forearms, ready to strike down any foe when they're put to use.  
  
But what's more dangerous wasn't the mech itself, but the man that controls it inside.  
  
Hewas taking a break from the tournament at Lanteau Island so that he could refresh  
  
his mind. He donned a colored tight suit and trench coat. No human ever knew his true  
  
identity, save for the scientists that helped provide his mech for him. To many he's  
  
simply as Schwarz Bruder - a Neo-German with fighting skills that rivals that of the  
  
acclaimed Master Asia, an honorable warrior gone rogue. Schwarz's role has never  
  
changed; he was to help Domon Kasshu, directly and indirectly, to win the battle  
  
against the Dark Gundam, a giant mech that is capable of three abilities that none of  
  
the other Gundams possess: self-regeneration, self-multiplication, and self- evolution.  
  
But, it was still up to the new King of Hearts to defeat this one menace that is a  
  
threat to the Earth's survival. Schwarz noticed that the three Insecticons were on his  
  
sensor screen. They couldn't see him because he was cloaked, rendering him invisible  
  
and unseen. Three other vehicles were heading in their direction. "What are those  
  
vehicles doing here?" Schwarz asked himself.  
  
What intrigued him further was that when he extended his line of sight through  
  
  
  
his sensors, there was no driver in one of the vehicles! Slowly, but silently, he  
  
advanced towards the Insecticons to uncover this conundrum.  
  
  
  
Hound's team had all of their heat sensors fully active once they were in range  
  
of the forest. They stopped and transformed at about ten miles beyond the premises  
  
of the woods nearby. Bumblebee and Jazz had their weapons ready, while Hound  
  
used his optical sensors to amplify his vision so he can see further, which is his  
  
equivalent of a set of binoculars. He noticed that one of the Insecticons were hidden  
  
behind the tree due to his adversary's exposed heat signature. It was Kickback,  
  
pulling out his machine gun and firing random volleys in the Autobots' direction.  
  
Bombshell and Shrapnel were giving support fire to lay waste upon their enemies.  
  
"Hit the deck!" Hound shouted, before the grenades landed, hitting and  
  
sending piles of dirt ten-twenty feet up, scattering it on and around them. Shrapnel in-  
  
formed his brothers that he was going to climb up one of the trees so he could get a  
  
better view of his targets. They allowed him to do as he intended. And continued firing.  
  
Jazz and Bumblebee retaliated, firing their weapons in the Insecticons' direction.  
  
Shrapnel climbed the trunk of a large tree upward, and all three Autobots were  
  
caught in his view. "Now I've got you, you - -" he said, but croaked as a blade dove  
  
through his back and pierced through his chestplate. "Wha - - what is this?" Shrapnel  
  
spoke faintly before his words died out. He was lifted by the blade with relative ease,  
  
then was finally released from the brunt of it, falling down and making a hard landing  
  
between his brothers. "Shrapnel!" Bombshell snapped. It suddenly came to his mind  
  
  
  
that they had a new enemy in their midst, whom had just defeated their brother without  
  
difficulty.  
  
"Who's there?" he asked aloud. All he got was the silent treatment. "Show  
  
yourself, or I'll blast you to pieces!" he threatened.  
  
"Okay," said the invisible stranger.  
  
A giant mech de-cloaked behind the Insecticons, standing eighteen meters  
  
tall, with arms crossed and blades sheathed. "You've got some nerve for fighting others  
  
whom is caught in a weaker position than you."  
  
Kickback and Bombshell noticed a couple of seconds later that his voice was  
  
coming through the speakers of the mech.  
  
"Who are you to mention such - -" Kickback said, turning himself towards the  
  
attacker.  
  
"Let's be realistic," the stranger continued. "You could try to attack me, but then  
  
you'd be exposing yourselves to your friends outside of the woods. Not very good odds  
  
in my opinion."  
  
Bombshell swiveled his head back towards their prey, then turned to Kickback  
  
and asserted: "Brother, he's right. With Shrapnel down, we're outnumbered four to two.  
  
I suggest we make a retreat."  
  
Kickback considered that thought for a moment, then signaled Bombshell to pick  
  
up Shrapnel and prepare to retreat. Once again he stood face forward towards their  
  
new foe. "Let me reassure you that we'll, and we won't be the only robots you'll have to  
  
worry about. The next time we meet, I'll promise you that it won't be easy as it is now."  
  
  
  
"Save your breath and run while you still can."  
  
Kickback grew hesitant, then called on Bombshell, whom was ferrying Shrapnel  
  
to retreat.  
  
Hound was wondering what made the confrontation with the Insecticons end so  
  
quickly. The answer grew apparent in the form of one giant mech. It flew over the three  
  
Autobots and landed directly in front of them. The scout scratched his head in  
  
confusion, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Uh, I guess we should thank you  
  
for saving our lives."  
  
"Don't mention it," the stranger said in a neutral tone.  
  
Bumblebee interrupted, intrigued about the stranger who was staring downward  
  
upon them. "I was wondering, why did you save us from the Insecticons?"  
  
The stranger chuckled, then replied: "I had this gut feeling of mine that you didn't  
  
come here just so you could wreak havoc on the Earth."  
  
"No, as a matter of fact, we got here by accident," Hound declared.  
  
"I see. Do you have any idea what brought you here?"  
  
"We were out back in Colorado doing a recon mission when we got trailed by the  
  
Insecticons. Somehow, one of them managed to create a vortex when he fired his  
  
weapon at the materials we were looking for. We got dragged into the vortex, and then  
  
we suddenly end up here on Earth, but not the Earth that we know.  
  
"We had to look for the Insecticons to make sure they weren't causing any  
  
trouble. Following that, we met you."  
  
It was all becoming clear to the stranger in the mech. These robots were not of  
  
  
  
this world. "You mind telling me who you are?"  
  
Hound chortled quietly and pointed to himself with his right hand. "I'm Hound."  
  
Both of the Autobots introduced themselves quickly.  
  
The small, yellow hued robot spoke "Bumbleebee,"  
  
"Jazz," the tall white robot said.  
  
The mech nodded at them. All of the Autobots and the mech stood in silence.  
  
Bumblebee broke that silence. "So you mind telling us who you are?" he smiled,  
  
confidently.  
  
"I, am Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany."  
  
"Nice to meet you," all three Autobots said as one.  
  
"As to you," he replied. "I am sorry, but I must head back to Neo- Hong Kong. My  
  
friends may be in need of me there."  
  
"Did you just say Neo-Hong Kong?" Hound inquired.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Mind if we tag along? We could use a guide to help us around here."  
  
Schwarz weighed that thought into consideration. "All right, I'll help. But  
  
try not to act too suspicious."  
  
"No problem. Hound grinned. "I guess we have we all have a lot of explaining to  
  
do."  
  
The Neo-German fighter chuckled again. "Yes, I suppose so."  
  
Hound and the others smiled. They had a confrontation with the Insecticons not very  
  
long ago, and made a new friend only moments afterward. 


	3. Chapter 2: Interception

Chapter 2 - Interception  
  
  
  
Megatron situated himself on his command chair, awaiting for the return of the  
  
Insecticons. They haven't sent back any report back to base for almost two hours, now,  
  
and the Decepticon leader was beginning to grow impatient. He tried relaxing, rapping  
  
his fingers on the arms of his seat, his back straight and taut. There was no one else in  
  
the room but him, alone, and angry.  
  
If any one of the other Decepticons were on the bridge with Megatron right now,  
  
it would've been unfortunate for them if they were to face his wrath. He then gripped  
  
both arm consoles of the chair and then smashed them into several piecewith the use  
  
of his forearms. "Where are they?!" he demanded inanger. The Insecticons have been  
  
away from the Decepticon base for too long now.  
  
Two Decepticons entered the bridge watching their leader's rage going up, the  
  
doors swishing behind them. Megatron's voice thundered throughout the bridge of the  
  
Nemesis.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Megatron shot out aloud. Starscream, his second-  
  
in-command, grew amused about his leader's dilemma. "Sir, I believe Soundwave has  
  
something concerning the Insecticons that you might find interesting."  
  
"This better be good, Starscream, lest I turn you to slag."  
  
"Oh, I promise it will be quite intriguing, Mighty Megatron," Starscream said with  
  
mock respect.  
  
"Well Soundwave, what have you to report?" Megatron uttered, waving his hand  
  
as an invitation of giving him information. "Insecticons have disappeared. Battle with  
  
Autobots being probable cause."  
  
  
  
"And?" Megatron questioned, hoping that there was more that Soundwave had  
  
to report, since he was the communications specialist and one of Megatron's more  
  
valued warrior. "Anomaly detected during course of battle," spoke out emotionlessly.  
  
"Did you just say 'anomaly'?"  
  
"Affirmative. Buzzsaw brings findings."  
  
Buzzsaw is another one of Soundwave's covert agents, which sharesthe same  
  
robot configuration like Laserbeak. "Playing data."  
  
The bird-like automaton transformed into a tape and was inserted into one of  
  
the slots that was designed specifically for both Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. A video  
  
display was activated, showing a rather fuzzy picture of the energon site in Colorado.  
  
Buzzsaw secretly followed the Autobots without getting noticed, since he was flying at  
  
low altitude under the trees. "Looks like the recording's been garbled," Starscream  
  
inferred in a tone of apprehension.  
  
"Of course it's been garbled you - - wait, it's getting clearer now."  
  
All three robots kept their eyes hooked to the video screen, a clear image of  
  
the Colorado grasslands was becoming more visible.  
  
Five seconds later Megatron noticed a patch of energonin the center of a grass  
  
patch. "The energon." he said, his voice faded into the air, feeling rather disappointed  
  
and annoyed because of this disaster. Two robots then suddenly came on the screen,  
  
and all the final events of the skirmish unfolded before his eyes. Jazz and Shrapnel  
  
were fighting each other, each warrior trying to gain advantage over one another;  
  
both robots vying for superiority against one another. His eyes widened as Jazz's  
  
  
  
kick knocked Shrapnel in the face hard, sending the Insecticon to stagger back a  
  
couple of feet.  
  
The skirmish continued onward for a duration of several minutes, until the  
  
combating wariors' doom came minutes later. Jazz and Hound were the first victims to  
  
be consumed in the vortex; with the Insecticons being the latter to be sucked in. One  
  
Autobot was left standing. He was young, small in height, bore a yellow silhouette, and  
  
was still defiant of the chaos ensuing in front of him  
  
Ah, yes, and we can't forget that nuisance known as Bumblebee, Megatron  
  
thought, grinning at the young warrior's misfortune. Two of his comrades were  
  
consumed into the anomaly, and Bumblebee was the only one left standing.  
  
As Bumblebee stood, Megatron felt unmoved, as he knew that Bumblebee knew the  
  
consequences of jumping into the vortex. Alas, he did so without a second thought.  
  
Buzzsaw's recording stopped five seconds later.  
  
"He's as foolish as Prime is. These Autobots are far too much naïve in their  
  
ideals of helping others, and are too willing to lay their lives on the line in order to save  
  
the weak."  
  
"Indeed, they are, Mighty Megatron," nodded Starscream in concurrence.  
  
"Do you think Prime will send troops to search for them?"  
  
"Judging by his sense of honor and foolishness, you can bet he will pool in what-  
  
ever resource he has at his disposal. We should do the same."  
  
"But why, sir? Are we getting the Insecticons back on the Nemesis?"  
  
"No, you fool! They have only recently opened a gateway into what could be  
  
  
  
another world, another universe. It is, as a matter of fact, a golden opportunity for the  
  
us. Think about it, Starscream, a world where they may be no Autobots, an ushering  
  
new age for the Decepticons."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"If we were to eliminate any threat that this alternate Earth poses us, we would  
  
have its energy resources and materials at our disposal. Thus, leaving our legions to  
  
freely move on and conquer the universe!"  
  
Starscream smirked at his superior's remark, tracing his chin with his fingers.  
  
He pondered that image of ruling over vast numbers of worlds, under the dominion  
  
of the Decepticons. Only, he didn't think about Megatron reigning those planets.  
  
He thought about himself leading instead.  
  
Yet the possibilities were endless, and there were just some things that just  
  
couldn't be ignored so easily. "Perhaps you may be right, if there were no Autobots in  
  
that alternate universe, then perhaps we may be free to rule the universe, after all.  
  
But what if we do run into heavy resistance?"  
  
"Then we'll crush them, and anyone else who dares to stand in our way!"  
  
Megatron roared, his voice echoing through the walls of the bridge and beyond in the  
  
Nemesis. Of course, we need a strategy," he continued. "First, we know that the  
  
Autobots will no doubt send a team to secure the region. After that, they'll attempt to  
  
find a way to adapt the anomaly in order to travel safely to this alternate universe.  
  
They will be expecting opposition from us, but I will give the Autobots much more than  
  
that," Megatron beamed, his eyes past his second-in- command, staring straight into  
  
  
  
the main viewscreen. The Decepticon leader stroked his finger as an indication of  
  
prudence to Starscream.  
  
"But, for this operation to succeed, we first gather whatever resources we  
  
have so we can establish some key outposts near the vortex and on the other side in  
  
order to maintain our superiority.  
  
"Of course. Prime will bring in a large contingent of his men to make sure that  
  
everything goes smoothly. We know for sure that the Autobots will most certainly station  
  
a garrison near the vortex. We'll launch an assault in the region, using it as a front to  
  
hide our real intentions from them. They'll think that they may have repelled our  
  
attack. But, once their numbers sink down, we can use our  
  
forces to ambush and bring the vortex under our control. Quite ingenious, is it not,  
  
Starscream?"  
  
The Seeker nodded again, "Indeed, sir. Since most of their efforts are  
  
concentrated on finding their missing comrades, they will no doubt send as many as  
  
they can to begin the search. May I assume that once the Autobots arrive they will  
  
search in teams for their three missing compatriots?"  
  
"Yes, and Prime will have to divert some of his attention to the Ark and its  
  
workings while his men are away probing the other side of the vortex. I doubt that,  
  
even though he is a worthy foe, he won't suspect a pint of what our real goal is."  
  
Megatron placed his hands on his hips, sporting his usual trademark sadistic  
  
grin, contemplating about the immensity of his plans of domination. He would make  
  
himself known throughout the universe, his name uttered on thousands of worlds.  
  
  
  
Soundwave and Starscream followed Megatron to cargo hold number two in the  
  
Nemesis. Through a series of empty hallways and decks, they managed to reach their  
  
destination, observing the activity in front of them just below the platform that the three  
  
Decepticons were situated upon . The Constructicons were going gathering  
  
construction materials to build new inventions to assist the Decepticons in their mission  
  
of chaos. Megatronstood quietly with arms crossed, with Soundwave and Starscream  
  
standing in oppositedirections of him. All the Constructicons stood at attention and  
  
saluted when they noticed his presence above them.  
  
"Megatron!" they exclaimed in union.  
  
His arms were stretched outwards, his palms open to signal his men to stand at  
  
ease. "Megatron, what an honor it is to see you, sir! May I ask the purpose of the  
  
reason concerning your visit here?" the Constructicon asked weakly.  
  
"I have a mission for you, Scrapper. One that is of great importance, one that  
  
is yet to determine the future of the Decepticons. One. that requires the utmost skill  
  
from you and your men," Megatron answered without hesitation. "And you will not be  
  
working alone."  
  
"We won't?" Scrapper said quizzically.  
  
"No, you won't."  
  
Scrapper swiveled his head towards his men behind him.  
  
"What is the mission, sir?"  
  
"I have yet to explain that to rest of our warriors in the briefing room, once we've  
  
gathered all the men that we require for this task. And I will tell you this: the magnitude  
  
  
  
of this assignment will be great. But, if we succeed, we will be the ones making history,  
  
and rule for centuries to come. Think of it as a golden opportunity for you all to fight at  
  
your best and prove yourselves of your worth."  
  
Those very words soon inspired the Insecticons in the room, raising their right  
  
arms and chanting Megatron's name. 


End file.
